“Bless your heart” – a Southern way to say you’re fat or not quite acceptable. If you only learn ONE southern idiom, it must be “Bless your heart.”

Sweet Southern Lady Saying, “Bless Your Heart.”

You can say anything about anybody, then say, “Bless her heart,” and it is alright. “She certainly has fleshed up – she looks like a bale of hay – bless her heart.” It is the accepted retort if someone relays some sad or unflattering news about another person. The listener will then reply, “Well, bless his heart.”

Even my transplanted Yankee friends have had to learn this one. Bless your heart gives us southerners carte blanche to say something not so nice about folks, and then be forgiven immediately.

If you don’t speak our language, you will most likely hear from the cashier at the check-out in the grocery store, “You ain’t from ’round here, are you?” And we are ALWAYS right. As soon as you open your mouth, we know you are not from around here. We do get some blank stares from folks who hail from above the Mason Dixon line.

The Perfect Southern Word for a Mess – Hurrah’s Nest

This was something that my mother would often say. She would tell me, “Your Aunt Effie’s hair looks like a hurrah’s nest.” I moved away, I said it and folks laughed at me. Then one day I didn’t say it anymore. That is too bad. I could never find it in my dictionary – until last night. I said it to my phone, “What is a hurrah’s nest.” Eureka, I found it! It was there in Webster. It means “an untidy heap, a mess.”

There are many words and phrases that I heard when I was growing up in the south – more specifically, eastern North Carolina. I spoke these words too, until I left home. Then, almost daily, someone would look at me and say, “What did you say?” It was then that I realized not everyone used those wonderful old expressions.  Unfortunately, I removed them from my vocabulary. Now I am adding them back. Click to see more wonderful southern expressions

This Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup with Bone Broth is the best soup I have ever eaten. It is not cheap, about $30 to make or $3.75 a bowl – but it’s a meal and worth every penny. Made with tender beef, fresh vegetables, and slow-simmered broth, it’s a full meal in a bowl. I am not a meat-eater, but this hearty soup could persuade me.

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Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 219kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Cost: 3.75

Ingredients

• 3 Tbs lard
• 2-3 lbs bone-in chuck roast
• 1 lb oxtails
• 2 -28 oz cans whole tomatoes This is really good if you have home-canned tomatoes.
• 1 -14.5 oz can beef broth or more
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tbs dried parsley or a hand full of fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large clove garlic mashed
• 6 large carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
• 4 medium potatoes washed and cut into chunks with skins left on
• 3-4 ears fresh corn cut off the cob
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 stalks celery cut into small pieces
• 1 -12 oz pkg frozen Lima beans frozen Lima beans (12 or 16 oz.)

Instructions

• Sear the Meat

  1. In a large stew pot or Dutch oven, melt the lard over medium-high heat.

  2. Add the beef roast and oxtails, searing them for 4–5 minutes until browned on all sides. This helps lock in flavor.

  3. Once browned, remove the meat and bones from the pot and set aside to cool slightly.
• Build the Stew Base

  4. To the same pot, add the canned tomatoes (use kitchen scissors or a knife to chop them directly in the pot).

  5. Stir in the beef broth, thyme, bay leaves, parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic

  6. Simmer this flavorful tomato broth over medium heat for 5–7 minutes while the meat cools.
• Prepare and Simmer the Meat

  7. Once cooled, cut the roast beef into bite-sized chunks.

  8. Return the meat, oxtails, and any bones back into the pot.

  9. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes, allowing flavors to develop.
• Add Vegetables

  10. Stir in the carrots, potatoes, onion, celery, Lima beans, and corn.

  11. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes, or until all vegetables are fork-tender.
• Final Touches

  12. Remove any remaining bones from the pot.

  13. Carefully remove meat from the oxtails, discard bones, and return the meat to the stew.

  14. Stir well and keep warm until ready to serve. Serve with toasted rustic bread.

Nutrition

Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 159mg | Potassium: 216mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 9038IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 3mg

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast Extended Stay lodging Williamston, NC 252-799-8787 near Washington, Greenville, and Windsor, NC

This is the best Corn Pudding I have ever tasted – and it is made with canned corn. If your budget is tight, this is a great dish to make, especially for those “pot-luck” dinners. It also has an amusing history — a friend Mary Anne gave me the recipe and now everyone thinks it is mine!

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Creamy Corn Pudding

This Luscious Corn Pudding is so good you won't believe it is made from canned corn.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Resting Time15 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, southern

Keyword: corn pudding recipe, southern food

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 256kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Cost: $10

Ingredients

• 1 15 ounce can corn, drained
• 1 14.5 ounce can creamed corn
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepepr (Optional ground black pepper)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter (melted = 1/2 stick)
• 6 Tablespoons sugar
• 6 Tablespoons flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x12x2 inch baking pan.
• Mix the corn and creamed corn. Stir in the pepper, salt, melted butter, sugar and four
• In another large mixing bowl, whisk the 4 eggs. Add milk. Add the corn mixture and stir.
• Pour into baking dish and fill almost full.
• Bake at least an hour and often longer until the corn pudding does not "jiggle." You can insert a spoon or knife into the center part to see if it is runny. If it is, then it needs to cook longer. Sometimes it takes 1 1/2 hours to set and be done.

Notes

This recipe was given to me by friend Mary Anne.  Take note -  this Corn Pudding is definitely not diet food.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 506mg | Potassium: 256mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 436IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 1mg

Let me know if you try this recipe.

Big Mill B&B, Williamston, NC 27892  tel. 252-792-8787

When you see that beautiful full moon in May – know that it is a Flower Moon. It occurs at the time in spring when flowers pop up everywhere.

Pretty little Johnny-Jump-Ups

David Grann writes on page one in his book Killers of the Flower Moon, “In April, millions of tiny flowers spread over the blackjack hills and vast prairies in the Osage Territory of Oklahoma. There are Johnny-jump-ups and spring beauties and little bluets… In May, when coyotes howl beneath an unnervingly large moon, taller plants such as spiderworts and black-eyed Susans, begin to creep over the tinier blooms, stealing their light and water. The necks of the smaller flowers break and their petals flutter away, and before long they are buried underground. This is why the Osage Indians refer to May as the time of the flower-killing moon.”
click to read about the Flower Killing Moon in eastern North Carolina

 Who can resist a pretty flower? Some of them, you can eat!  Spring and Summer offer many edible flowers; fall has fewer, but they are beauties – and easy to grow.

A fun thing to do with edible flowers is to freeze them in ice cube trays for drinks and punch. You can use these in any season. Here is how to do it – it’s easy as 1-2-3! Click to see how to make Edible Flower Ice Cubes – it’s EASY

Sausage Gravy is a southern comfort food.  We southerners have always enjoyed good pork sausage – when I was young, we raised hogs and had hog killings. And we didn’t waste anything, not even grease, fat or lard; hence, our love of sausage gravy. This recipe was given to me by one of my long – term Big Mill B&B guests, Janell.

Easy-to-Make Sausage Gravy

When I was young, we raised enough hogs to feed five families for the entire year. We had pork chops, corned backbone, bacon, lard, fat back, ribs, plenty of good sausage, chitlins and cracklins‘ (yes, we say it like that.)  Sausage, hams and shoulders were always hanging in the Smoke House to cure. I still have that wonderful Smoke House here on the farm. Although I especially like Sausage Gravy on cold days, we serve it all year long as a real comfort food. Click to get Chloe’s recipe for Sausage Gravy

Who says Bone Broth has to be boring? This Beef Vegetable Soup made with bones is the best I have ever tasted. The secret – BONES.

This soup uses bone-in chuck roast and oxtails. Another secret ingredient is lard.  Our grandmothers were right – lard is great.

Click to get Chloe’s Bone Broth Beef Vegetabl Soup Recipe

Popcorn Sutton was a short, squirrelly dude with a trashy mouth, and I can’t help but be fascinated by his persona.

READER BEWARE: Popcorn had a smart mouth and made some lewd signs depicted in the photos that he sent to me.

Click to see photos and story of Popcorn Sutton – BEWARE – some are lewd.

I just love this Pozole Recipe. Pozole is a Mexican Soup that is usually made with pork; this recipe is made with chicken. It can be made in a crock pot if you’d prefer.

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Pozole – Mexican Hominy Soup - a Gringo Version

I just love this Pozole Recipe. Pozole is a Mexican Soup that is usually made with pork; this recipe is made with chicken. It can be made in a crock pot if you’d prefer.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: mexican hominy soup, pozole recipe

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 326kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3-4 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic peeled & crushed
• 32 oz chicken broth
• 28 oz chopped tomatoes 1 large can
• 10 oz red enchilada sauce
• 46.5 oz hominy, drained 3 cans
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 20 oz white meat chicken breast, drained and broken up 2 cans or use leftover chicken

Instructions

• Sauté onion in olive oil in a large pot until onion is translucent. Add garlic and sauté for a couple minutes more.
• Add chicken broth, chopped tomatoes with their juice, enchilada sauce, drained hominy, salt, and pepper. Simmer until hot.
• Add chicken and cook at least 30 minutes. It is fine to simmer on the stove or in the crock pot for longer.

Nutrition

Calories: 326kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 1486mg | Potassium: 498mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 365IU | Vitamin C: 19.2mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 3.2mg

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Gene Eastham shared this recipe with me after he cooked it for me!

click to learn all about HOMINY